A committee which put forward the failed bid for Brighton and Hove to become a city of culture has been scrapped.

Councillors have agreed to abolish the culture committee even though the city is devoted to the arts.

Its full name was the culture, regeneration and housingcommittee. In future it will be called the housing committee.

Cultural issues including tourism, heritage, the arts, libraries and museums will be transferred to the powerful policy committee.

Leaders of the four main parties decided a committee should deal solely with housing in view of its importance.

But Tory councillor David Smith told colleagues culture should not be downgraded. He said: "It sends out the wrong message."

Council leader Ken Bodfish said culture was of such importance it would be dealt with by the main policy committee and would not be downgraded.

He added: "The development of arts and culture is not just for the council but also with other groups. I feel that with these changes we will maintain ourselves as a premier arts and tourism centre."

There will also be an arts commission to co-ordinate arts strategy and advise the policy committee,Brighton and Hove failed to reach the short list for European City of Culture in 2008, an honour eventually won by Liverpool.

The council also decided to reduce the size of the standards committee from 15 to ten members after hearing it was probably the largest committee of its type in England.

There will also have to be a new licensing committee now that many functions previously dealt with by magistrates will be the responsibility of councillors.

Tory councillor Brian Oxley warned this would put a great burden on some colleagues who would have to deal with these issues almost on a daily basis.

Other changes in council practice include allowing members of the public who ask questions at meetings to put one supplementary query.

There will also be an experimental 15-minute question time for the public at policy meetings.